someguyfl

Curious, what status/cabin type?

Since the consensus seems to be that it's just going to be a cake ... is there any reason I need to mention it weeks in advance before the cruise ... or can I just tell the Maître d` on the first day?

As the title says, an upcoming cruise will mark my 10th wedding anniversary... I see that Celebrity asks on their website to tell them if there's any special occasion. We are sailing in Aqua class on the Eclipse on 12/23/2023 through 1/20/2024. We are Captain's Club Elite. Our 10th wedding anniversary is 1/19/2024 (So, the final night of the second cruise). My questions are: Would I do that through my travel agent (Amex Platinum), or calling Celebrity? The trip itself is overall a big expense (~$20K), at a time that we have a lot of other major expenses (building our 'forever home'), so not really looking to spend on anything in addition (eg: some expensive Champagne) ... So, without any additional expenses, any idea what I would expect Celebrity to do to mark the occasion? A generic cake? Something specifically decorated? An upgrade? This trip wasn't specifically planned as an "Anniversary" cruise, but it does happen to overlap. Neither my wife nor I have really mentioned this coming up. I'd rather that until whatever the 'thing' that Celebrity does, nobody mention it at all ... eg: If it's going to be a cake and a "Happy Anniversary", that should be on the date of it, and not mentioned by the room steward when we first come on board, or the Host/Maître d` at Blu on night 1... If they would do an upgrade to a suite, then of course it's fine to mention it at that time. Since it works out to the final night of the cruise, and whatever would be done would be something like a desert - if it makes more sense to mark the occasion at some other point during the cruise (eg: the last formal night of the cruise, NYE, Christmas, etc) ... I'm sure my wife would enjoy the surprise then anyway. Thanks in advance!

"After the first bracket"? Personally, I'd prefer quieter spaces as well, and on my most recent cruise on Edge, there was certainly more noticeable music all around the ship (except for the Retreat areas, which were quiet) .. .but it didn't seem like 95-110 ... I spend a lot of time in concerts and nightclub type venues which have 100db and wear ear protection, and it never seemed that loud to me anywhere on Edge. And as far as the main point of the thread ... I'd agree that the Solarium should remain officially "adults only". I don't mind if it's soft-enforced (ie: they let it slide when kids are quiet and well behaved) ... but it certainly shouldn't be noisy kids running around. ESPECIALLY on cold cruises like Alaska / Antarctica ... Sure, that may mean there's no pool for kids on those cruises, but, that's sort of the reality... If the kids aren't mature enough to enjoy the beautify of Alaska as it is without also having access to a pool ... they probably aren't mature enough for that cruise with a pool, either.

Is this a specific thing about TA's, or repositioning cruises in general? Is it just wines that are less well provisioned, or is it other things as well?

And if you look at what I said, it's exactly that. Don't look sloppy. Being stylish was far down the list. I've said budget isn't really a thing. You're literally agreeing with everything I laid out on how to dress appropriately.

Right, this is an example of something that very wealthy people, for the most part ... wouldn't wear ... People who are wearing these sorts of things tend to be able to just barely afford these sorts of things and want to advertise that their clothes were expensive. Anyway, do whatever makes you comfortable.

The point is that so many people are focused on dressing up to a standard that nobody actually cares about.

Adding a little bit more context to my previous post re: being dressed nicely. Cost of your clothing is irrelevant. If you focus on how truly wealthy people are dressed, the most important rules seem to be, in order of most to least important: 1) clothes should be clean and not wrinkled 2) should fit well 3) should be appropriate for the occasion (ie: gym clothes at a dinner restaurant is never acceptable, but a sun dress on a cruise ship dinner might be… use discretion). Sure it’s great to wear a suit on a formal night of a cruise… but nobody would be surprised if Bill Gates was wearing slacks and a sweater to that sort of event (assuming he actually went to such events, which I doubt) 4) (at this point, it’s already becoming much less important) should be stylish … but not necessarily expensive (I have plenty of clothing items below $100 that get tons of complements, as a guy) 5) should not be a walking billboard … sure, a billionaire might be wearing a $1000 Moncler sweater… but it isn’t going to say the brand name in giant letters… If you follow those rules, there are very very few places they would ever give you a problem. Basically, a few Michelin starred restaurants… and a few special events (eg: weddings, award ceremonies), where the invitation spells out the dress code very clearly.

IMHO, the MDR lunch is one of the best kept secrets of Celebrity cruises. There are often good things on the menu (including steaks), and the venue is generally pretty empty. Because it’s so empty, the staff has time to focus more on the guests who do show up, and there seems to be much better service. of course it’s not going to be as time efficient as the buffet, but if you’ve got the time, imho it’s worthwhile.

I'd say this... I did an Ocean View cabin only once before, and I found that I had a headache from stuffy air the entire time ... When I am in Balcony cabins, I don't really use the balcony much, but I find the air quality to be much more fresh just because of people in adjacent rooms opening their balconies and it causing circulation even through the hallway... The rooms on deck 3 seem to almost all be directly adjacent to or below a crowded area (eg: I'm sure it can get quite loud under Cafe Al Baccio). If you're not sensitive to air quality or noise while you are sleeping, none of that might matter to you.

Are there any rules that only kids can order from that menu? 😉

I'll just throw in my own $0.02 ... I don't personally care too much what people do, but I do think it would be nice if, in general, people did put effort into dressing nicer on the 'evening chic' nights. With that said, I personally own a tuxedo and multiple suits, as well as designer jeans, t-shirts, styling sport coats, etc etc... Depending on the itinerary, bringing along a suit really might just be asking a lot ... eg: I will be doing a B2B cruise later this year starting in Santiago Chile, ultimately ending in Buenos Aires, and cruising Antartica... The full cruise will be 30 days and will range from hot/humid to ... Antarctica cold. It seems it will be impossible to fly business class, so that would mean that I'd have to put my suit in my checked bags (which will get them entirely wrinkled), and take up a lot of space ... as well as an extra pair of shoes which will only be worn a couple of times. Honestly, really not sure if it's worth the hassle to bring my suit, but, we'll see... And, adding to that ... the difference in someone wearing nicely selected, tailored, designer jeans / t-shirt/sports coat (ie: dress to impress at a night club) vs someone wearing a rented Men's Warehouse suit... I'd say the Men's Warehouse suit is clearly the under-dressed person. When I go to company parties, I regularly have all the ladies commenting on how I am the best dressed guy at the event, and, unless the dress code specifically requires a suit, I don't wear one -- and many other men do. Likewise, I've dressed in a similar way on Celebrity cruises, and had various other cruisers cold-approach me to comment on how much they liked my style. Sure, this might be a generational thing, but I can see the difference in quality very clearly, and I'd rather someone wear quality clothes than just "a suit" which ticks a box. For the record, I'm 41 / Male. Okay, off my soap box.

I was on Edge during Thanksgiving last year. I personally opted out of having any of the thanksgiving food ... there were better choices on the Luminae menu for dinner, and I personally love the Indian cuisine they have at the buffet, so that's usually my go-to there. With that said, I did look at how it was laid out, and it was very clear that the chef didn't understand Thanksgiving traditions ... there were mashed potatoes, turkey, and gravy ... but the mashed potatoes were very far from the gravy, leading to people taking very non-optimal paths around the buffet to set up their plates, and all commenting on it... I doubt that it'd be prepared like a home-cooked thanksgiving if they don't even realize that the gravy should be next to the potatoes...

Wonder what the first day will be, I’m on a B2B starting December 23 on Eclipse, until Jan 20.

I agree. I prefer MDR, Blu, or Luminae for breakfast when time allows. The only time I'd consider a different option is if time was not available for a long sit-down breakfast ... Which seems to be what the Elite breakfast is going for with their "coffeehouse style breakfast" ... For me, on a day with a long excursion that starts very early, I'm going to be starting at the OVC most likely, and I doubt I'll be seeing the Elite breakfast at all.

Just throwing my $0.02 in ... I just earned Elite status after my last cruise and haven't actually experienced the Elite breakfast yet... With that said, given what I've read... If there's no protein (minimum of eggs or yogurt), I don't see the point at all. I'd love a quick and easy buffet option reserved for elites which is a bit less hectic than the OceanView Cafe... but I can't be the only person who has to control their blood sugar by keeping it relatively low carb, and it seems like there's zero option for me on the Elite breakfast menu.

How is the main buffet (oceanview cafe) different from the elite breakfast, though?

Why the caveat about closed loop cruises out of the US not allowing them even if there are a lot of elites?

I did a behind the scenes tour on my last Celebrity cruise, and the head chef said a few things that might be relevant to this: 1) All food is picked up in the departure port with no provisions in additional ports except for very rare circumstances. Celebrity (like most cruise lines) is extremely concerned about the risk of food poisoning, and therefore wants to have as few suppliers as possible so that they can maintain consistent food standards... Given this logic, I'd suspect that may even mean that in some cases (eg: Eclipse is doing Los Angeles to Valparaiso (Chile) as a positioning cruise, and then Valparaiso (Chile) to Buenos Aires as another positioning cruise, before doing a number of cruises from Buenos Aires. I suspect that Celebrity may pick up extra nonperishable food in Los Angeles (eg: canned goods, frozen meats), and only pick up what they must from Valparaiso (eg: Dairy, Eggs, Fruits and Vegetables). 2) For Blu, Luminae, and the speciality restaurants, all entrees are cooked and timed individually, and essentially "to order". For the MDR, and Buffet, food is cooked in large batches. Given large batches, it's not possible to control things as tightly, so some foods will be cooked slightly more or less than the other, and as they need to ensure food safety, they have to err that the minimum time is safe, which means the average maximum time will be cooked more than in Blue, Luminae, and Speciality. On my last cruise, I was in a suite on Edge, and I visited all 4 of the MDR as well as Blu and Luminae, but did not visit any of the speciality restaurants. I found that while there was some difference between Blu and Luminae, overall the food quality was fairly close, with some better ingredients / more delicacies available at Luminae, and somewhat more attention from the server (though, the service was absolutely excellent in both places). -- This part is about to get more critical, and I'll start off just by saying that the MDR's are not bad, and everyone has different levels of expectations. Some people, when they are at home, are happy at a restaurant that costs an average of $30 per person ... and others are happy at a restaurant that costs an average of $60 per person ... and others are happy at a restaurant that costs $100 per person... If you're the $30 per person restaurant type, the MDR will be excellent. At the 4 MDR's, it was a noticeable drop in overall quality in every way -- the uniforms were not as nice for the staff, the staff was less experienced, and had more tables to manage, so there was less individual attention. The ingredients were less exotic than what was used at Blu, and fragile foods (eg: fish) tended to be at much higher risk of being overcooked. Some meals were great, but it was inconsistent. -- Personally, I don't want the food on a cruise to just be as good as what I have at home ... I want it to better ... And for that reason, I'd say the happy medium choices for me on Celebrity would be either Aqua class or a regular room and just plan to use a speciality restaurant every night. I enjoy the use of a sauna, but honestly prefer the (free) dry sauna in the locker rooms of the Solstice class ships over the "premium" aqua thermal suite, so I make the decision based on what the overall best price is between aqua or regular veranda + speciality dining. If I am in Aqua or Suite, I tend to use the speciality dining zero or maybe one time on a cruise. I've already paid for upgraded food ... why throw it away?

Compared to the experience of trying to get a drink at a bar in downtown Orlando, or a Nightclub in Miami or Vegas, it's super super super easy to get a drink from a bar on a Celebrity cruise ship. I guess I will say the one place where I find it very difficult to get a drink is from the servers in the Buffet ... can literally be waiting 15 minutes to even see a server, and then another 15 minute to get your drink. It's fine if you walk up to the bar, but less convenient.

As someone who drinks an alcoholic drink once or twice per year, and otherwise just drinks sparkling water 99% of the time ... Honestly I find that Celebrity's servers/sommelier in the restaurants are pushing drinks very aggressively. On the occasions that I actually wanted a drink, there was constant asking if I wanted a refill, both in the restaurant or at the bars.

Thanks!

Hello, While I was onboard a cruise 12 months ago, I booked a B2B2B cruise which would be a total of 6 weeks for the positioning of Eclipse starting from Los Angeles to Chile, then Chile to Argentina, then Argentina to Antartica... Unfortunately, the timing looks like it's going to be problematic as I've just bought a home which needs major rennovation and likely will be right in the thick of major construction. Most likely, if I cut the first two cruises off and turn it into just the Antartica cruise, I will be able to make the timing work. Does anyone have any experience with how Celebrity handles this? I noticed that there is a $100 B2B discount on each of the cruises, and suspect that as a result they will force it to re-rate the whole cruise if I cancel the B2B cruise before it... and if I do that, the current pricing on celebrity.com is 20% higher, as well as probably losing the OBC which was given as a promotion for the on board booking. Greatly appreciate any advice on how to best handle this.

Yeah, the Coffee benefit of Elite Plus is nice, and I'd probably think about it ... but likely I'd still end up with the Premium Non-Alcoholic package to get access to Evian, San Pellegrino, and the fresh juices.